About Hajo Meijer

Hajo Meijer is the sole proprietor of Ecocentric Design, committed to deeply sustainable architecture.
Hajo is a graduate from the faculty of Architecture at the TU Delft in the Netherlands and a certified Passive House Designer.
Hajo lives with his family on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

As many green building and conservation professionals agree that ‘the greenest building is the one already standing’, it was a logical choice for these environmentally minded soon-to-be grandparents to convert their old horse barn into a secondary residence for their … Continue reading →

‘The numbers don’t lie. To keep global warming at tolerable levels, the building industry has to change—radically and rapidly. That’s the message of a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Global Status Report 2017 sounds a red alert: “near-zero-energy, zero-emissions … Continue reading →

‘PassiveHouse is for wimps; the Powerhouse standard is crazy tough. And these Norwegians do it in the dark.’ Powerhouse energy standard = Passive House + Net-Zero Energy, including all embodied energy over the life time of the building! This hotel, … Continue reading →

The Niagara Market building in Victoria, BC has been amazingly transformed! When Seamus McKeating & Jennifer Gunter bought the building a little over a year ago it needed an overhaul. We tossed around ideas on how to refresh the building … Continue reading →

Here’s a project I’ve been working on lately; a small, efficient house in Nelson, BC, designed for a young family with an active outdoor lifestyle. The 30′ narrow lot poses some challenges, but it’s going to be an efficient unit. The … Continue reading →

These just in! 24×32′ multi-functional building nestled in the trees on the slopes of Kootenay Lake. One open space under a timber roof, with a porch, garage doors and a view of Kootenay Lake. Job well done by Shawn Handley … Continue reading →

Recently I had the pleasure to see Bjørn Kierulf of Createrra Architects in Slovakia, give a presentation at BUILDEX Vancouver, about Passive Houses built with natural materials. Natural Passive House Driven by the desire to build Passive Houses as natural as possible, … Continue reading →

It is my pleasure to announce that I received certification as Passive House Designer today! To receive this Certification I had to pass a stringent test set out by the International Passive House Institute in Germany, covering all aspects of … Continue reading →

Recently I designed this Gym for a couple of professional athletes that had moved from Calgary, where they lived around the corner of one the biggest work-out centres in North America, to Kaslo (pop. 1000) with only one small fitness centre – and it’s … Continue reading →

Kaslo Passive House construction has reached lock-up – the house in enclosed. The walls are up, the roof is on and the doors and windows are installed. The house is weather tight – Let winter come! South facade with lots of windows. South-west … Continue reading →